Hypnosis and pain in children Chantal Wood Paediatrician, Pain Management Centre

Hypnosis and pain in children
Chantal Wood
Paediatrician,
Pain Management Centre
Hôpital Robert Debré, Paris, France
Hypnosis in children
• It is a wonderful experiential tool
• Used more easily by children than adults
because they have blurred boundaries
between fantasy and reality
• Maximum hypnotisablity :
– between age 8 and 12
– under 4 years : distraction
What is hypnosis?
• A feeling of ease or mental relaxation
• An absorbed and sustained focus of attention
• An absence of judging, monitoring, and censoring
• A suspension of usual orientation towards time, location and/or
sense of self
• An experience of one’s own responses as automatic
• Allowing suggestions such as those of analgesia
Large et al. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Pain.
Progress in Pain Research and Management 2003; 24 : 839-851
A bit of physiology
Spinal Ganglion
1st neuron
Posterior
sensitive
Rolando Substance root
A  and  Fibres
A  and C
fibres
Motor
Anterior
Root
Grey Matter
White Matter
Cerebral activity during pain
Primary and
secondary
somatosensorial
cortex
Insula
Cortex
Thalamus
Cingular
Anterior
Cortex
Rainville et al., Médecine Science 16 (2000)
Hypnosis and pain modulation
Different mecanisms could take place :
- At the peripheral level : hypnosis modulates the nociceptive
input by down-regulating A and C fibres stimulation.
- At the spinal level : reduction of the nociceptive reflex RIII, a
polysynaptic reflex which is not subject to voluntary control.
- At the supraspinal level : modulation of different sites involved
in the experience of pain.
- Hypnotic suggestions can modulate directly both the sensory
and affective dimensions of the pain perception.
Cortical modulation of pain
Laurent B. Peyron R. Letter of the Institut UPSA of Pain 2002; 17
• Pain is like any sensorial stimuli, submitted to the influence of
attention, anticipation, mental imagery, conditionning
• The fronto-cingular areas of the brain, activated by analgesics
like morphine or by cortical stimulation, are the same areas
sollicited by complementary therapies like hypnosis
• This shows the reduction of the dichotomy between the
anatomo-biological approach and the psychological approach
of pain
Pain – Oucher transformed to 0-10
Importance of the first procedure (LP or BMA)
Placebo first time followed by fentanyl
on all subsequent procedures
Fentanyl for all procedures
1ère
2ème
3ème
4ème
5ème
Intervention
Weisman SJ, Bernstein B, Schechter NL (1998). Consequences of inadequate
analgesia during painful procedures in children. Arch Pediat Adol Med, 152, 147.
Two types of memory
Implicit memory
• Unconscious
• A lost souvenir can be
recalled through a similar
experience and give new
sensations and emotions
• Active at all ages,
• Main memory in small
children
Explicit memory
• Conscious
• The child can recall his pain
(site, intensity, duration…)
• Active after the age of 3 or 4
Both memories play a role :
- in the anticipation of the following experience
- in the consequences of the pain
Descending analgesia – When the spine echoes what the
brain expects
P Goffaux, WJ Redmond, P Rainville, S Marchand
Pain 2007, 130 : 137-143
• Our expectations concerning pain modify our pain
perception
• Our expectations of hyperalgesia completely block
the analgesic effects of the decending inhibition on
the spinal nociceptive reflexes
• Our expectations act at the spinal level but also
also on our brain
• The efficacy of valid analgesic procedures can be
blocked by anti-analgesic expectancy
Useful ideas
• At the hospital, the child is focused on his anxiety and
his pain
• During a procedure he is already in a « hypnotic transe »
which the carer can use…This situation creates a
« natural » dissociation
• Use whatver the child brings….. His toys… his
teddybear…his car….
• Get to know the child (his cognitif level), what he likes,
his expectations, his motivation…
Useful ideas
• Have the child participate actively ++++ : the
technique works better !!!
– Use touch (A et A), the thought of a touch (the wind
blowing), of a mouvement…
- Interact with the child especially if he is young or
cognitively impaired
- Fingers… play with fingers
- Feet … stepping on feet…
- Blowing bubbles…
- Make sure the child is concentrated (or focused) on
something else ++++
- Never abandon the child ++++. Do not stop
interacting even if he cries, or shouts….
Hypnosis :
a fabulous tool to help the child in pain !
How can this tool help the child ?
- by our words (conversational hypnosis)
- by distraction
- by guided imagery with nitrous oxide
- by learning techniques of hypno-analgesia
Keep in mind that when some on is afraid or in pain, he is already in some sort
of “hypnosis”, focalised on one part of his body.
The Words to Use
The brain can not hear negative words
« Do not be afraid … »
« Do not worry … »
« It will not hurt … »
• Be confident…
• What you are living is not
easy…..
« I shall give you the prick and • Here we are doing what
we have to do… while
tell you when I will do it.. »
you could just focus and
stay in your safe place
The impact of our words:
and be comfortable…in
Can words hurt? Patient-provider interactions
the world of……
during invasive procedures : Lang EV et al. Pain
2005; 114 : 303-309
Conversational hypnosis
• Can words hurt? Patient- providers interactions during invasive
procedures. E Lang et al. Pain 2005
• Studies on placebo :
– During the post-operative period, verbal suggestions of
analgesia were followed by a higher placebo effect (Pollo et
al. 2001, with buprenorphine)
– In patients with an irritable bowel syndrom, suggestions to
reduce pain were followed by a higher placebo effect (Verne
et al. 2003; Vase et al, 2003)
« Open » and « hidden »
treatments
Focusing attention by distraction
• Distraction and attention :
• Most used method by the parents
• Has to be adapted to the child’s cognitive developmental level, and
his level of fatigue
• Using all the sensorial paths ([VAKOG] vision, audition, kinesthesia,
olfaction, gustation)
• Parent attention versus distraction : impact on symptom
complaints by children with and without chronic functional
abdominal pain. Walker LS, et al. Pain 2006; 122 : 43-52
– Painful complaints are doubled when the parent shows attention
– Complaints are reduced by 50% when there is a distraction
– Parents of sick children believe that distraction has a negative effect on
their child
Hypnosis and Nitrous Oxide
•
The anxiolytic and sedative
actions of nitrous oxide help to
focus better on some else than the
procedure
•
During inhalation the child keeps a
verbl contact with the carer
•
Find out what the child wants to
« live » during the procedure :
« a football match, cycling in
the forest, a journey with
superman, preparing a birthday
cake, decorating the christmas
tree… »
Hypno-analgesia
• 3 techniques can be used :
– Suggestions of analgesia or sensorial substitution
• Glove analgesia, topical anesthesia, switchbox, pain displacement..
– Suggestions of dissociation
• Leave your body here and go far away…
– Suggestions on the way of interpreting the painful
sensation :
• Making the sensation less unpleasant (a tarentula and a migraine)
• Working with a psychotherapeutic approach on the reinterpretation
Indications of hypnosis : acute and
chronic pain
• Hypnosis is complementary to the
use of analgesics.
• It helps reduce pain and anxiety
and enables the patient to
understand his own ressources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Headaches, migraines
Abdominal pain
Musculo-squeletic pain
Post traumatic and post-operative pain
Chronic pain (Sickle cell, Crohn disease…)
Skin problems
Etc.…
All painful procedures :
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lumbar poncture and bone marrow
aspiration
Dressings
Venipunctures… drainage tubes…
Examining phobic and anxious children
Hypno-sedation
Etc.…
and any painful episodes
Butler et al, 2005
• Self hypnosis
Liossi 1999, 2002, Liossi and Hatira 2003, Liossi et al.
2006, 2009
•
Banez 2008
Kuttner 1998, 2010
•
Vlieger et al, 2007, 2010, 2012
Wood and Bioy, 2008
Zeltzer et al, 1982, 2005
Conclusion
Hypnosis:
• Helps the child in reducing his pain and anxiety
• Allows him to cope better, being able to get the « control »
over his pain
• Shows him that he has his own ressources
• Should be associated to all the treatments given to reduce
acute or chronic pain
• Helps to create a collaboration between the child, his
family, the nursing team and the hypnotherapist
Against noise
Nasogastric tubes
Magical Cream
Venipunctures
Blood samples
CD on hypnotic techniques for the parents :
Sanofi-Aventis-Theraplix and the Fondation of France
Film made by Michèle and Bernard Dal-Molin, and the Advita Society, and the Pain Management
Centre, Hôpital Robert Debré of Paris - France
Financed by the CNP Fondation
For Professionals and Teachers
Film made by Michèle and Bernard Dal-Molin, the Advita Society, and the Pain Management
Centre, Hôpital Robert Debré of Paris - France
Financed by the APICIL Fondation
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